Help!! Is this Typhoon Weekender a good deal?

[rob sprogell]

I am thinking of stepping WAY up from a sunfish to a 1973 CD Typhoon Weekender that an aquaintance has agreed to sell me for $3500.00, down considerably from his original asking price of $5,000.00. it has a 1992 Nissan 3.5hp 2-stroke outboard with very few hours on it, two sets of sails (one set is in rough shape), a spinnaker, a good anchor, and a good compass. All the hardware seems to be in good working order. All of the teak looks to be in good condition but in desperate need of oiling (or varnishing?). The bottom needs to be sraped and painted. It does not appear to have any lighting whatsoever!

At what do I look to decide if this is the right price? For example, from the few things I've been able to read about Weekenders, it seems I would want to know the condition of the balsa core. How the heck do I go about doing that? And I read something about installing "knees." What the heck do they have anything to do with? And so on.

As you see, I need all the help I can get, and would greatly appreciate whatever assistance you can provide. Thanks so much, Rob






rsprogell@aol.com

[sloopjohnl]

do a search for "typhoon weekender" on this site. it'll give you a lot regarding these items.
check the foredeck and cockpit sole - make sure it is not spongy or does not "oilcan" - either of these symptoms indicate delamination and probably a wet core.
check the chainplates and the cabin on the exterior - if there is cracking at either, that indicates the coachroof may be sagging from too much compression on the mast. solutions are either support knees (braces) in the interior at either end of the mast deck-step support
beam or a compression post from the bilge to under the mast deck-step.
check the interior for water stains especially around the portholes and check the hull below the waterline for blisters. blisters may look like pox rather than big bubbles in some cases.

I am thinking of stepping WAY up from a sunfish to a 1973 CD Typhoon Weekender that an aquaintance has agreed to sell me for $3500.00, down considerably from his original asking price of $5,000.00. it has a 1992 Nissan 3.5hp 2-stroke outboard with very few hours on it, two sets of sails (one set is in rough shape), a spinnaker, a good anchor, and a good compass. All the hardware seems to be in good working order. All of the teak looks to be in good condition but in desperate need of oiling (or varnishing?). The bottom needs to be sraped and painted. It does not appear to have any lighting whatsoever!

At what do I look to decide if this is the right price? For example, from the few things I've been able to read about Weekenders, it seems I would want to know the condition of the balsa core. How the heck do I go about doing that? And I read something about installing "knees." What the heck do they have anything to do with? And so on.

As you see, I need all the help I can get, and would greatly appreciate whatever assistance you can provide. Thanks so much, Rob

[Marino Curati]

I don't know if it's an issue to you or not, but for $3500, the boat should have a trailer of some sort. I don't mean one of those really nice Triad ones, but mine came with a double axle trailer bed with a cradle attached to it.

-Marino

[Bill Goldsmith]

Rob:

For the amount you are considering spending on the boat, many experienced boat owners might skip having it surveyed and basically do it themselves, perhaps with good advice like the kind available on this board. I know that three years ago this board was indispensible in getting me up the learning curve quickly.

Having said that, I would strongly recommend hiring a surveyor to go over the boat from stem to stern and masthead to keel. The cost will be well worth it. Buying a decent moisture meter is going to cost more than a survey on a 19 foot boat anyway (and they do require alot of experience to interpret the results properly.) It is extremely important to hire a surveyor who will give you a verbal rundown with you present while he conducts the survey. This will double as a crash course in the construction, systems as well as the condition of the boat. You may want to call several surveyors and "interview" them before settling on one that will give you what you want. Since you are moving up from a Sunfish, you will certainly learn new things.

Finally, if you are planning to insure the boat, the insurance company *may* require a licensed surveyor's report anyway.

In addition to the areas you mentioned (balsa core, knees) a full survey will include the hull, hull/deck joint, cockpit sole core, deck core, bedding and condition of all deck and through-hull fittings, standing rigging, running rigging, spars, outboard, sails, and a host of other things I am forgetting. I think the knees refer to compression posts installed to fight excess compression on the cabintop from the deck stepped mast, that have deflected the cabintop on some Typhoons.

Sounds like the proposed cost is reasonable if there are no major flaws. The cost of repairing a wet deck could very quickly cost more than the purchase price, effectively "totalling" the boat. On the other hand, one small wet area, near a poorly bedded fitting, for instance, might not be a killer.

Welcome to the CD world!!

Bill Goldsmith
CD27 #173 (1980)
Second Chance

I am thinking of stepping WAY up from a sunfish to a 1973 CD Typhoon Weekender that an aquaintance has agreed to sell me for $3500.00, down considerably from his original asking price of $5,000.00. it has a 1992 Nissan 3.5hp 2-stroke outboard with very few hours on it, two sets of sails (one set is in rough shape), a spinnaker, a good anchor, and a good compass. All the hardware seems to be in good working order. All of the teak looks to be in good condition but in desperate need of oiling (or varnishing?). The bottom needs to be sraped and painted. It does not appear to have any lighting whatsoever!

At what do I look to decide if this is the right price? For example, from the few things I've been able to read about Weekenders, it seems I would want to know the condition of the balsa core. How the heck do I go about doing that? And I read something about installing "knees." What the heck do they have anything to do with? And so on.

As you see, I need all the help I can get, and would greatly appreciate whatever assistance you can provide. Thanks so much, Rob

goldy@bestweb.net

[Jack Jo Chamberlain]

We bought our 1975 TY weekender in 1985 for $4,750. Owner was askinf $5k. Extra knees (free from CD, as they were still in business then) had been installed by previous owner. Eventually, we still had cabin top sag caused by mast compression, so we installed a compession post from inside cabin, from under mast to the keel. Problem solved, although some interior space compromised. We now have a CD 33, but still daysail and race the TY. All I know about balsa core is to walk the deck and check for softness or sag.
Jack and Jo Chamberlain,
Lancaster VA
"Maggie Rose" CD 33 # 67
"Now What" CD TY

jchamber@crosslink.net